|
Naked Lunch (1991) 6.9
Ratings:
6.9/10 from 23,745 users
Metascore: 67/100
Reviews: 131 user | 100 critic | 16 from Metacritic.com After developing an addiction to the substance he uses to kill bugs, an exterminator accidentally murders his wife and becomes involved in a secret government plot being orchestrated by giant bugs in a port town in North Africa. Director:David Cronenberg |
| 0Share... |
User Lists
Related lists from IMDb users
Share this Rating
Title: Naked Lunch (1991)
Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.
Photos
Learn more
People who liked this also liked...
The Seventh Seal
(1957)
Drama
|
Fantasy
Director:
Ingmar Bergman
Stars:
Gunnar Björnstrand,
Bengt Ekerot,
Nils Poppe
Adventure
|
Comedy
Director:
Terry Gilliam
Stars:
Johnny Depp,
Benicio Del Toro,
Tobey Maguire
Basquiat
(1996)
Biography
|
Drama
Director:
Julian Schnabel
Stars:
Jeffrey Wright,
Michael Wincott,
Benicio Del Toro
8½
(1963)
Drama
|
Fantasy
Director:
Federico Fellini
Stars:
Marcello Mastroianni,
Claudia Cardinale,
Anouk Aimée
Biography
|
Drama
Director:
Julian Schnabel
Stars:
Mathieu Amalric,
Emmanuelle Seigner,
Marie-Josée Croze
The Aviator
(2004)
Biography
|
Drama
Director:
Martin Scorsese
Stars:
Leonardo DiCaprio,
Cate Blanchett,
Kate Beckinsale
Horror
|
Romance
Director:
Neil Jordan
Stars:
Brad Pitt,
Tom Cruise,
Kirsten Dunst
Biography
|
Drama
|
History
Director:
Gus Van Sant
Stars:
Sean Penn,
Emile Hirsch,
Josh Brolin
Kinsey
(2004)
Biography
|
Drama
Director:
Bill Condon
Stars:
Liam Neeson,
Laura Linney,
Chris O'Donnell
Dreams
(1990)
Drama
|
Fantasy
Director:
Akira Kurosawa
Stars:
Akira Terao,
Mitsuko Baishô,
Toshie Negishi
Before Night Falls
(2000)
Biography
|
Drama
Director:
Julian Schnabel
Stars:
Olatz López Garmendia,
Giovanni Florido,
Javier Bardem
In the Name of the Father
(1993)
Biography
|
Drama
|
Thriller
Director:
Jim Sheridan
Stars:
Alison Crosbie,
Daniel Day-Lewis,
Philip King
Edit
Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Peter Weller | ... | ||
| Judy Davis | ... | ||
| Ian Holm | ... | ||
| Julian Sands | ... | ||
| Roy Scheider | ... | ||
 |
Monique Mercure | ... | |
| Nicholas Campbell | ... | ||
| Michael Zelniker | ... | ||
|
|
Robert A. Silverman | ... | |
| Joseph Scoren | ... |
Kiki
(as Joseph Scorsiani)
|
|
|
|
Peter Boretski | ... |
Creature Voices /
Exterminator #2
|
|
|
Yuval Daniel | ... | |
|
|
John Friesen | ... | |
| Sean McCann | ... | ||
|
|
Howard Jerome | ... | |
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Plot Synopsis
Storyline
Not an adaptation of beat writer William S. Burrough's novel but a mix of biography and an interpretation of his drug- induced writing processes combined with elements of his work in this paranoid fantasy about Bill Lee, a writer who accidentally shoots his wife, whose typewriter transforms into a cockroach and who becomes involved in a mysterious plot in North African port called Interzone. Wonderfully bizarre, not unlike Burrough's books. Written by Keith Loh <loh@sfu.ca>
Taglines:
The book was banned. The film should never have been made. Too late. See more »Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
Rated R for heavy drug content, bizarre eroticism, and language | See all certifications »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
Edit
See more »
See full technical specs »
Details
Release Date:
24 April 1992 (UK) See more »Also Known As:
El almuerzo desnudo See more »Filming Locations:
Toronto, Ontario, CanadaBox Office
Budget:
$16,000,000 (estimated)Gross:
$2,541,541 (USA)Company Credits
Production Co:
Film Trustees Ltd., Naked Lunch Productions, Nippon Film Development and Finance See more »
Show detailed
company contact information
on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
DolbyColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
Edit
This film of 'Naked Lunch' is the first of Cronenberg's Trilogy
of filming three of the most challenging literary works of the
20th Century, and arguably the most difficult... as anyone who's
read Burroughs' 1959 novel can attest, in conventional terms it
is a book without a cohesive plot or even structure, largely
assembled from the paranoid rambling letters of the world's most
notorious drug addict. Cronenberg's approach to the material is
ingenious in that he attempts to fictionalize the circumstances
under which the book was written rather than trying to weave a
storyline from the mass of twisted plot threads which comprise
the text. The cast is impeccable, particularly Peter Weller and Judy Davis
as the leads, Ian holm as a psuedo-Paul Bowles, and Cronenberg
regulars Robert A. Silverman as Hans and Nicholas Campbell as
Kerouac-ish Hank. Julian Sands and Roy Scheider don't quite
infuse their roles with the ridiculousness of their counterparts
from the novel, but their cameos are brief and don't detract
from the overall effect. The overall effect being a hypnotic, schizophrenic blend of
biography and folklore, equal parts Cronenberg and Burroughs, a
self-tortured portrait of the creative process. To the
director's credit, he relies on the script (his own) and the
performances over visual trickery or stock travelogue scenery to
set the mood and propel the action. The astonishing soundtrack,
by the superb Howard Shore, underscores the drug-filled malaise
of this Tangerine dream perfectly... it lacks any musical sense
of time and therefore hangs over the proceedings like a
mysterious haze. Haunting, powerful cinema... but most
definitely not for everyone. Wise up the marks before laying
this on them.